


My, My, How Could I Resist You?

by OmeletteAche



Category: Mamma Mia! (Movies)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Drunken Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 20:56:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16436621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmeletteAche/pseuds/OmeletteAche
Summary: Young Harry is finding it hard to give up on Donna, but then he meets a handsome stranger in Greece.





	My, My, How Could I Resist You?

Harry was tired. After his dismal attempt to follow Donna to Kalokairi, he’d spent the last few days in a crummy hotel on the Greek mainland. Most of that time had been spent in the even crummier bar around the corner. Right now, it was 7 in the evening, and he was two drinks in. There was hardly anyone at the bar – a pair of old fisherman and the cheery, pretty bartender. She was friendly to Harry, but he hadn’t been in a generally chatty mood these last few days. “Harry, why aren’t you out partying on the town tonight? A young, handsome man like yourself?” It was the same thing she’d said the night before.

He shrugged. “Not tonight.”

“Surely you must want to meet some lovely ladies? You won’t meet many in here.” She gestured to the almost empty bar. “Apart from me, of course.” She grinned cheekily. Harry gave her a weak smile back and took another sip, while she bustled away to serve the fishermen.  
As unappealing as the bar was, it did have a rather pleasant view of the harbor. Harry swung around on his stool to face the glass door and took in the view of the setting sun. It was rather dazzling, and he was busy regretting his lack of sunglasses, when the door to the bar swung open and a young man stepped in. He was tall, blonde, and tanned, with striking blue eyes, and the tousled look of someone who spent his days outside. Harry couldn’t help gawking; he didn’t think he’d ever seen a man so beautiful. The stranger walked over to the bar, sat on a stool to the left of Harry, and ordered a drink. The bartender had been friendly to Harry, but she was positively beaming at this new gorgeous specimen. As he waited for the drink, the man turned to look at Harry quizzically. Harry, as it turned out, had not stopped staring, and now he had been caught out. 

“Can I help you?” the blonde stranger asked. 

A gorgeous accent too. One that Harry couldn’t quite place – Nordic perhaps? Harry felt a rush of blood to his face and shook his head in embarrassment. He felt like a complete idiot, his brain now doing backflips to try and explain himself. “No… I mean, no thank you… it’s just…” The young man’s look of confusion intensified. “I was just thinking that you look…I mean, you remind me of … someone I knew... know, I mean.” It was partly true. The other man did remind him of someone, and the more he thought about it, the more Harry realized that he reminded him of Donna. There was something in his confident and carefree air that was just like hers.  
The young mans’ face relaxed, and he smiled. Sliding off his bar stool he offered his hand to Harry. “I’m Bill”

“Harry.” Harry shook his hand, the grip firm but not hard. He felt himself calm down and he smiled.

“You aren’t a local, I take it?” Bill asked.

“Is it that obvious that I’m a fish out of water?” Harry joked in reply. Bill grinned, a megawatt smile that left Harry with a strange lurching feeling in his stomach; butterflies felt like too weak of a description; they were more like velociraptors.  
“No, I’m not local,” Harry finally answered. “And neither are you,” He drained his glass and ordered another.

Bill took a sip of his beer. “No. Swedish. And you’re British, I gather. So, what brings you to Greece, Harry?” Harry couldn’t help but feel hot under Bill’s gaze. The piercing blue eyes were magnetic. 

“A girl,” he replied. 

Bill raised his eyebrows and smirked, though not unkindly. “I know how that goes.”

“She doesn’t want me, though. It was all a waste of time.” 

Bill nodded sympathetically.“Did you love her?”

It was a slightly intrusive question, especially from a stranger, but Harry was past the point of caring and besides, he was tipsy. He shrugged. “Do you think it’s possible to fall in love in a day?”

“Sure. Happens to me all the time. I met the woman of my dreams this weekend. It doesn’t mean it has to be forever,” Bill replied, with a chuckle.

Harry sighed. “The thing is, this woman, I think she was the only woman I’ll ever feel that way about.” 

Bill furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? There are plenty of beautiful women in the world. You’re sure to find one of them to love, if this girl won’t have you.”

“Well, it’s just that, I think, that I might not actually… like girls… that much. I mean, as friends, yes, but…” He trailed off. The words were jumbled, but to be fair, Harry had never admitted anything like that out loud before. He’d barely admitted it to himself. Bill just blinked, his expression unchanged, but Harry could tell immediately that Bill had understood his meaning. Bill’s gaze was so direct Harry felt like he was looking straight into the sun again.

“Do you like men instead?” Bill asked.

The air felt statically charged. 

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never … been with a guy before. Or actually, anyone, until a few days ago.”

“Do you want to?” 

“Want to what?”

“Be with a man.”

Harry snorted. “Well, is that an offer?” he said, jokingly, his voice reaching a higher pitch than he intended.

“Do you want it to be?” Bill’s voice was as calm as ever.

Harry felt like his heart had missed a beat. “I think…” he stopped, then shook his head in confusion. “I think I’ve had too much to drink tonight. I need some fresh air to clear my head.”

“Come walk down the quay and see my boat. That’ll give you some fresh air.”

“You have a boat?”

“It’s my only tool of seduction.” And he gave Harry a wink. Harry had to laugh – the wink itself proved that statement incorrect.  
It was rare for Harry to meet a person so charming, and yet, this was the second time this week. Harry wasn’t averse to having a look at a well-made boat, and he was enjoying being with Bill. “Oh, alright, you’ve twisted my arm. I’m in a generous mood, I’ll let you show off your boat,” he teased.

Bill grinned. “I’m much obliged.”

The two men left the bar, and stepped out into the cool, breezy night air and onto the harbor. They strolled along the quay, staring up at the stars, and the sliver of moon. They had walked about halfway down the quay when Bill stopped and gestured to the boat beside him. “This is my baby. My one and only."

“She’s beautiful.” And she was. Harry didn’t know anything about yachts, but this one looked expensive, and well designed, and larger than he had expected. 

Bill looked pleased. “Would you like to have a look inside, have another drink?”

It was tempting to stay with Bill, but therein lay the danger. “No, thank you. I shouldn’t. It would be a bad idea. I really should be getting back to the hotel.” 

Bill reached out to touch his arm, as he turned to go. “Harry…I didn’t mean…” The touch was light, but the impact on Harry was not. Their eyes met, and Harry jerked away and stepped backwards, as if electrified. It was at this moment, that he, not being entirely sober, nor undistracted by Bill’s beauty, tripped over the mooring. He found himself toppling over the edge of the quay and into the water, as if in slow motion.

Harry could swim, but the shock of the freezing water had caused him to gasp as he went under, getting a mouthful of seawater. Not only that but he was still drunk, and it was so dark that he couldn’t quite tell which way was up. His lungs were burning like crazy, and the more he kicked and flailed the worse it seemed to become. He was just thinking what an awfully stupid way to die this was, and how embarrassing too, when he felt arms around him pulling him to the surface. It was Bill in the water with him, and now he was pulling him back towards the quay. The quayside was luckily lined with large tires along the sides. They both grasped onto the tires, hauling themselves back onto the quay. Bill was up faster, and grasped Harry under the arms, and they both collapsed down onto the flat concrete. They lay there, gasping for breath for a while. Harry started sputtering like mad, his body trying desperately to eject the water from his lungs. Bill sat up, looking worried. He rolled Harry onto his side and placed a hand on his back and rubbed up and down. “Harry, you alright?”

“Fantastic. Never better,” was the chuckling reply, which caused another hacking fit. 

“Careful now.” Said Bill, still concerned. “You’re shivering”. Harry hadn’t noticed, but now that Bill had pointed it out, he saw that he was indeed shaking like a leaf.  
Bill got up and helped Harry onto his feet. “I think you should come aboard my boat. At least to get dry.”

Harry was hardly in a position to argue. He stepped on board after Bill, though much less steady on his feet, as his sea legs were non-existent. He followed Bill down below deck into the living quarters of the boat. Bill’s bedroom was small, as expected, but cozy. Bill rummaged around his bed and emerged with a soft pair of track pants and a T-shirt in hand. “We’re a similar size but you have a few inches on me. These might fit you.” 

“Thanks,” said Harry, taking them with a smile. “And thank you for saving me.” 

“No problem.” 

“I’m so embarrassed. I think I must be clumsiest idiot on the planet. And I can actually swim, it’s just-”

“You wanted my attention so badly you pretended to be drowning?” Bill teased. 

Harry rolled his eyes playfully. “So conceited.”

Bill grinned, and then, without a hint of self-consciousness, stripped off his wet clothes, and rubbed himself down with a towel. He was even more obscenely gorgeous without his clothes, and Harry had to bite back an audible groan at the sight. But it was no good pretending; Bill caught him ogling for the second time in the night. “You’re staring as if you like what you see,” he laughed, pulling on a pair of shorts and a shirt.

“Can you blame me?”

Bill rolled his eyes playfully. “Absolutely, I can. Now it’s your turn to change,” he said, with an upward quirk of the eyebrow. 

Harry shook his head with vigor. “Not with you watching.”

“You Englishmen are a bunch of prudes,” said Bill, clearly teasing. But he did leave the room as Harry got dried off and changed. Harry found it strange, wearing another man’s clothes, but not unpleasant. They smelled like Bill, which as it turned out, was more than a little intoxicating.

Bill came to join him in the room, bearing two mugs of cocoa. “I thought you could use something non-alcoholic to drink.”

Thanking him, Harry took the mug and sipped the warm liquid gratefully, as Bill came to sit next to him on the bed. They drank in silence for a few minutes.

“So, what are your plans, Harry?”  


“I’m going to stay at the hotel another night or two, but then I have to head back home. It’s time. Moping around Greece by myself is not going to do me any good. At the rate I’m going, I’ll have accidentally drowned myself before the end of the week. Properly this time.”

Bill chuckled. “That hotel’s kind of garbage. Why don’t you stay here for the night?”

Harry looked at him in surprise. “You mean, here on the boat?”

“Yeah, why not? I could use the company.” 

The room was spinning around Harry slightly, and the idea of not having to walk back to the hotel was incredibly tempting. The idea of being around Bill was even more tempting. “Okay, I’ll stay.” He received a happy smile in response. “But where will I sleep, Bill? Your other bed is covered with junk.”

Bill pretended to be offended. “Excuse me! Junk?! I’ll have you know that is all incredibly important, valuable…stuff.” He broke into a laugh. “My bed is big enough for both of us. I’ll even behave myself. If you want me to.”

Harry decided to ignore the flirtatious comment for the sake his own sanity. “Okay, fine. I’m so tired, I’m ready to pass out. But if you snore, I’m gone.” 

Bill chortled. “Fair enough.”

Harry flopped down on the bed, the exhaustion of nearly drowning had caught up to him. He lay with his eyes closed, enjoying the slight rocking motion of the boat, and the quiet sound of the water lapping against the side. He heard Bill lock the cabin door and switch off the lights and then pad back to the bed. He opened his eyes just in time to see Bill pull off his shirt. He quickly looked out of the window, not wanting to be caught watching Bill a third time.  
Bill cocked an eyebrow but said nothing, and climbed into bed, lying close enough that Harry could hear him breathing. Harry suddenly felt wide awake, but Bill’s eyes were half closed, his hand resting on his own bare chest, a picture of comfort and ease. He said, in a sleepy voice, “You know Harry, that girl, she doesn’t know what she’s missed out on. You’re a catch.” 

“Ha.”

“I mean it.” And he opened his eyes and reached over and took Harry’s hand in his. He held it, stroking his thumb over Harry’s knuckles. There was something calming and consoling about it, and yet also something thrilling too. 

In a moment of uncharacteristic spontaneity, Harry rolled onto his side to face Bill, their faces only inches apart, and curled his arm around the other man’s waist. His heart felt like it wanted to beat right out of his chest. “Do you think… Do you think it would be strange if I kissed you now?” he asked.

“I think it would be strange if you didn’t,” came Bill’s smiling reply.


End file.
